Date Night
by notjaneausten
Summary: An unexpected treat at the prison reveals a softer side to Daryl Dixon
1. Chapter 1

An encounter during movie night at the prison reveals a softer side of Daryl…

DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the characters from The Walking Dead; they have just been 'borrowed' for my own amusement.

Rick looked down from where he had been stationed on watch duty in the tower and noted the excited crowd gathering around a smiling Michonne and Tyreese. The pair had just returned from a supply run to a small strip mall a few miles west of the prison that they had been calling 'home' for the past six months. Excited chatter rose up from Carl, Beth and Glenn and they huddled closer to the tall woman and started to rummage through the carrier bag that she held tightly onto. Rick looked over to where Daryl was walking the perimeter and the other man shrugged his shoulder to indicate that he had no idea what was going on. Rick motioned for Daryl to take over in the tower and then descended the staircase and entered the yard to see what had been causing all of the ruckus.

Tyreese had the boot of their lime green Honda lifted wide open to reveal the stacks of bags heaped up inside. He saw Rick approach and turned to rummage inside for a few seconds.

"Hey, Rick heads up!" Rick instinctively raised his hand up and caught the package that Tyreese had thrown. He opened his hand to see a package of raw corn kernels and raised an eyebrow in question. Tyreese nodded his head over in Michonne's direction. "Goes perfectly with what she found today – Michonne, show Rick what we brought back." Michonne shoed the younger members of the group aside and walked over to where Rick was tossing the corn between his hands.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you…..Movie Night!" Michonne revealed the contents of the bag to be a battery operated portable DVD player along with an assortment of movies. "Glenn said that we could hook up one of the TV's in the recreation room to the smaller generator – we've got plenty of fuel now that we've got the showers running off solar panels."

"Okay, I'm not gonna argue with you on this one, it will do us all good to have a bit of escapism for one night. Where did you come across them?" Rick agreed with the plans willingly and was met with smiles of excitement all around.

"We found a little entertainment store just on the outskirts of town, I went in there originally thinking I could score some more comics for my main man, Carl; but came across this little beauty instead. I wiped out the whole stock of batteries and Tyreese just grabbed what he could from the racks. Didn't want to spend too much time in there, as the hoots of excitement from the big guy over there could've brought an entire army of Walkers inside."

"Hey! Can I help it if I love spaghetti westerns?" Tyreese made an exaggerated drawl and mimed twirling a six shooter in the air. Rick, on the other hand looked worriedly across to where Michonne still held the movie collection.

"Please tell me that's not all you managed to bring back? I was hoping for at least a bit of Bruce Willis or something made within the last twenty years…"

"Haven't a clue, I just kept an eye on the doors and left Tyreese in charge of the entertainment." Michonne rummaged through the bag and brought the movies out for inspection, Carl and Glenn leant in closer as well.

"Hmmmm…. 'Fistful of Dollars'; 'For a Few Dollars More'; three 'Django' movies…Tyreese, did it not occur to you that not everyone might share your dubious tastes in light entertainment?" Michonne stopped looking through the bag to glare at the hulking man next to her.

"There might be something else in one of the other bags, I just emptied out whatever was in the clearance racks."

"Yeah well, I can see why." Glenn muttered sarcastically. He turned to face Rick, "I think I might volunteer for extra watch on movie night."

"Me too." Carl chipped in, disappointment etched on his lean, young face.

"We haven't decided what night it will be yet, or got to the bottom of the bag!" Michonne rustled the bag invitingly and laughed at the look of disgust on their faces.

"If it's anything like has already come out of the bag, I think I'll pass – thanks all the same." Glenn didn't hold out much hope for a blockbuster hit to appear and sure enough when Michonne revealed the last two DVDs he was proved right.

"Oklahoma and Dirty Dancing! Nice, Tyreese, real nice." Carl smirked at the choices and looked over at Glenn. "Think we'll be taking those extra watches, Dad."

"Think I might join you, son." Rick shook his head in disappointment and threw the bag of popcorn at Tyreese's head. "Knock yourself out, big guy. You may just have the room all to yourself. I'll spread the word around that you'll be setting up in the rec room for around seven thirty tonight, but I'm not sure you'll get too many turn up." He spun on his heel and headed back to the watch tower, it had seemed a great idea when Michonne first presented the player but he could see many people being disappointed in the selection on offer. Rick looked back over his shoulder to see Tyreese cradling the bag of movies and the player close to his chest protectively. Glenn walked slightly ahead of the other man and looked across the yard to where the generators were housed, he sighed heavily.

"Well are you coming Tyreese? Might as well get the cables in place and the TV hook up in place. I suppose I could force myself to watch one of them. I think Maggie would want to watch Dirty Dancing, we could pretend like it's a real date."

"Can't remember the last time I went on a real date; before the world went to shit, I mean." Michonne trailed behind them carting in a few bags of tinned food. "The whole process was stupid really, dressing up pretty; having a nice meal then seeing a movie and if you were lucky a kiss goodnight to round off the evening."

"Michonne, I would be pleased if you would accompany me to the movies tonight. I'll even spring for dinner in return." Tyreese gave a mock bow and held out his hand in invitation. Michonne gave a light laugh and set down the bags on the floor so that she could take his hand.

"Oh, kind sir! How could I resist such a heartfelt invitation?" She swiftly planted a loud, wet kiss on his cheek before lifting the bags back up into her arms to carry on into the kitchen. "You can pick me up at my cell around seven…and don't be late!"


	2. Chapter 2

Despite Rick's initial thoughts, the recreation room was full just before seven thirty that evening. Hershel and Beth were seated at a small table to the side playing checkers; Maggie and Glenn were snuggled together on a foam mattress against the wall; with Tyreese and Michonne sharing the worn leather couch directly in front of the TV. Rick and Carl had carried out their original plan of taking the watch; neither particularly interested in anything on offer. Sasha had also declined the invitation and had volunteered to watch Judith instead, stating that she was far happier with the baby and a good book. Carol was tucked away in a corner with a pile of clothes in a basket in front of her, going through items brought back that afternoon and setting aside anything that might prove useful.

Glenn had persuaded Tyreese to put on Dirty Dancing as he had officially declared the movie to be 'Date Night'. The movie was well underway when Daryl, sick of his own company, decided to drop in. He stood in the doorway, scanning the dimness of the room searching for that familiar silver flecked hair.

"Glenn, where's Carol? I thought that she would be here." He bent down to whisper into the young Asian man's ear. Glenn waved a hand over to the other side of the room and went back to snuggle with his wife. Daryl scanned the room again, not seeing Carol tucked away in the shadows.

"Where?" He asked again a little louder this time. Maggie and Glenn both looked up, pointed over into the corner and looking at each other they began -

"No-one puts…."

"Baby in the corner!" the rest of the room chorused, echoing a famous line from the film and erupting into laughter. Daryl shrugged his shoulders, he hadn't a frickin' clue what they were wittering on about. He made his way over to where Carol was sitting, smiling up at him in amusement. Daryl plonked himself down with a clatter and started to take out bits and pieces from the bag that he had brought along; earning him a few shushes from the group around him. They all received a glare back in return and he carried on laying out pieces of wood and feathers on the floor next to him. Carol continued sorting clothes, looking at the screen every now and then to keep up with the story; whilst Daryl whittled thin pieces of wood into sharp replacement arrows and ignoring the movie entirely. He noticed that her eyes lingered on the screen a little more often as the movie progressed and heard her sigh almost wistfully.

"I used to love to dance when I was younger, Ed didn't like to though, so that was the end of that." Daryl merely grunted in response and tried to concentrate on attaching feathers to the ends of his arrows with some thin fishing line.

"There was just something free in dancing…what about you, Daryl? Did you like dressing up and dancing the night away at your senior prom?" Carol teased playfully, looking over at the taciturn man beside her.

"Huh! Didn't go ta prom. Wasta time if you ask me…" Daryl kept his head bent down, the truth of the matter being that having Merle around growing up, he had never wanted to bring any girl he liked into his elder brother's vicinity. He had desperately liked one particular girl at school but after hearing Merle discuss with his friend's everything that he would like to do to her, Daryl had acted like going to the prom was no big deal and went on a bar cruise with Merle instead.

Carol stayed silent for a while after that, recognising that Daryl was not in a talkative mood that evening. She folded the useful clothes and placed them back in the basket and started to tear the others into strips to use as bandages. She didn't think that Daryl was paying any attention and was startled when he passed a small, sharp blade over to her. He shrugged his shoulders in dismissal of her thanks and turned his attention back to his arrows.

As the first movie finished to a round of applause, there were calls to put another one on. Beth and Hershel finished their game and decided not to stick around for the second feature.

"It's past time these old bones were in bed." Hershel stated as he awkwardly bent down to kiss Maggie goodnight. He had been bitten in the leg by a Walker during their first few days at the prison, and the only way to save his life was to perform a field amputation of the leg below the knee. Hershel had gone on to make a full recovery, but using crutches day in and day out wore him out earlier than before.

"Goodnight, Daddy. Night Beth." Maggie kissed her sister on the cheek and snuggled back into Glenn's side.

"Night, Maggie, Glenn. I'm going to walk Daddy over and then see if Sasha wants me to take Judith for a while. She's been teething lately and has been awful restless." Beth took her father's side and they left the recreation room to head over to the cells. Tyreese got up to change the DVD over and shook the empty bowl of corn.

"Anybody want more popcorn? No, okay let's start the movie." As everyone shook their head in refusal of more popcorn, Tyreese settled back against the cushions and stretched his arm out along the back.

"No funny moves there, mister!" warned Michonne softly, the old arm along the back cushion had been the standard play for many a teenager wanting to cop a feel in a darkened theatre. Tyreese snatched his arm back quickly and stuttered an apology.

"Uh – uh, just wanted to…had a bit of cramp…"

"Oh, shut up Tyreese! I was only kidding!" Michonne poked him in the side and pulled his arm across her shoulder and settled against his large frame. "Besides, you're more comfortable than the sofa any day!" Everyone laughed at her actions and sat back to watch the next movie. Tyreese had selected 'Oklahoma!' and soon the recreation room was filled with the full, rich sounds of the musical.

Carol glanced over at the screen as she was gathering the fabric strips together to form rolls of bandages; she noticed Daryl's suddenly tense face in the flickering light from the TV. He stiffened slightly as he realised what movie was playing and fought to control the emotions that were coursing through him in remembrance.

"You okay Daryl?" Carol whispered softly. He nodded slightly and then leant over to whisper in her ear.

"This used to be my Grandma's fav'rite picture. She was bedridden after a stroke and there was this one time when my folks were away that me and Merle were stayin' over. It was just me and Grandma at home…I couldn't have been more than five or six…." Daryl turned back to the screen, shifted position slightly and placed his arrows and bag further away from him so that he could stretch his long legs out in front and rest his back more comfortably against the wall. This brought him directly in contact with Carol's shoulder and he hesitated slightly; expecting her to pull away at the contact.

Carol didn't move, she just continued rolling those fabric strips as if nothing out of the ordinary was taking place at all. On the inside though, she was relishing the feel of his wiry frame pressed against hers. She could feel the warmth of his body seeping into her, the man was like a walking furnace! Carol echoed his pose; stretching her own legs out in front of her and leant over for another bundle of fabric strips. Laying them across her lap, she reached down to pick out another strip to roll, only to find her fingers tangled with Daryl's as he had reached over to do the same. Both of them held still for an endless moment before pulling their hands back to select another strip of cloth.

"It's like watching the spaghetti scene from Lady and the Tramp." Maggie whispered to Glenn, pointing out the movement with a sideways motion of her head. Glenn sneaked a look over and nodded in agreement.

"I've never seen Daryl sitting so close to someone before…and look – is he actually enjoying the movie?" Maggie looked over again and saw that Daryl had stopped rolling the fabric and was now looking directly at the TV; she threw a piece of stale popcorn at the couple sitting on the couch in front of them. Michonne looked over her shoulder with a scowl and then flicked her eyes to the side when Glenn made a movement with his shoulder to make her aware of the other couple. A silent conversation was held and the decision made to give them some privacy.

Glenn and Maggie slid silently out of the room first, they were often slinking off for a little privacy themselves so Daryl paid them no heed. Tyreese then stood up and stretched his arm out exaggeratingly.

"I'm gonna get a refill of popcorn, want to give me a hand Michonne?"

"Sure, I'm up for a refill." She rose to her feet and reached down for the empty bowl. "Daryl, why don't you and Carol take the couch for a little while? Ty and I will be fine on the mattress when we get back." Carol waved them away, noticing that Daryl's attention was fixed firmly on the flickering screen and he hadn't even noticed that they were now completely alone in the darkened room…


	3. Chapter 3

Daryl was looking at the TV alright, but he was remembering the first time he had seen that particular movie…

_"__Sweetie, could you put my movie in for me please?" The small boy jumped up from the couch and went over to the television cabinet._

_"__This one, Grandma?" He said, holding up a case depicting a smiling girl and handsome cowboy._

_"__That's the one, Sweetie. Do you want to watch it with me for a little while, until your Grandpa and Merle get back from town?" The old lady beckoned her grandson over to sit next to her on the edge of the bed. "This movie is very special to me, your Grandpa and I went to see it just after your Pa was born, we used to have a 'Date Night', when your Pa's Aunt Sadie used to come over and tend the children."_

_"__What's it about, Grandma?"_

_"__Love and life, Daryl, love and life. It's about how different people learn how to get along in the face of a terrible event. Only it has music and singing in it too. Just settle back and you'll see." He also remembered Merle whaling the tar out of him, when he caught him singing "Surrey with a fringe on top" a few weeks later, and had taken to calling him 'Darlena' saying that only girls liked that kind of movie. _

Daryl came back to the present with a bittersweet smile on his face, his Grandma had passed on less than a year later and he cherished the memories that she had left with him. In his whole life, she had been the only source of softness; his ma had always followed his pa's lead and Merle was a carbon copy of their bitter, hard drinking sire.

"Hey Pookie, wanna fool around?" Carol sensed his change of mood and nudged his shoulder in an attempt to lighten the atmosphere. Daryl turned his head away from the screen for a moment to drop one eye in a slow wink before directing his attention back to the screen. It never ceased to amaze him that she seemed to sense his every mood, and knew just what to do to bring him out of one of his dark periods.

Carol led her head fall softly against his firm shoulder and breathed in the clean, earthy scent of the warm male sitting so silently beside her. They could spent hours together without saying a single word, just sitting in comfortable silence not needing meaningless drivel to fill the empty space. Daryl reached down to gently clasp her hand, tucking it close between their bodies; out of sight from whoever might be watching them. He didn't give a rat's ass whether anyone joked around to him; he had no intentions of making Carol feel uncomfortable at the comments that might be directed toward them. He remembered all too well how Glenn and Maggie were treated when they were first together. He turned his attention back to the screen and realised that his Grandmother's favourite song was in full flow.

'_Don't take my arm too much, don't keep your hand in mine…"_

"Your hand feels so grand in mine…" Daryl bent low to whisper in Carol's ear at the same time as it was sung on screen.

"People will say we're in love…" She whispered back just as softly; he manoeuvred their legs so that her feet were tucked under his and shifted against the wall so that he could wrap one of his arms around her shoulders to draw her closer to his side. He sighed deeply at the feel of her lush curves pressing against him and her head tucked even closer into his neck; causing little shivers to run down his spine.

_'__Til the stars fall from the sky…'_

"They'll see it's alright with me…" Daryl turned his head to brush a tender kiss across Carol's forehead and placed a finger under her chin to lift her face up. He looked deeply into her shining blue eyes and slowly bent his head, giving her plenty of opportunity to move away. When she made no attempt to move, he brushed his mouth over her soft lips in a ghost of a kiss. Carol caught her breath as Daryl nuzzled her cheek with his soft stubble.

"Let people say we're in love." Suddenly impatient, Carol moved her head to captured Daryl's mouth in a firm, but fleeting kiss. "We're all alone in here, Pookie…." She started to say, only to have Daryl pull her to her feet to swing her up into his arms. He strode over to the rec room door and snicked the lock into position before winking saucily and dropping her down on the abandoned mattress.

"Wanna fool around?"


End file.
